Kocijancic is, remarkably, not only a busi
nessman but also a high-ranking Communist
Party official. As Slovenia approached its
most important election day ever-Yugosla
via's first free multiparty elections since
World War II-Kocijancii explained why his
party, which today appears enthusiastically
noncommunist, decided to keep its old name,
"League of Communists of Slovenia," while
adding a mollifier, "Party for Democratic Re
newal," and a new slogan, "Europe Now!"
"We didn't want to avoid our responsibility
for the past," he said. "We know communism
has a bad image today, especially after China's
Tiananmen Square massacre, Romania's
Timisoara, and incidents here in Yugoslavia,
and that it is identified with Stalinism. We
122
don't want people to say we cheated to win."
They didn't cheat, and they didn't win.
Voters in April elected a democratic parlia
ment, while awarding the largely ceremonial
office of president to a maverick communist,
Milan Kucan.
"Yugoslavia today is undemocratic and on
the brink of civil war," said Kucan, one
of Yugoslavia's most liberal politicians
and a man who courageously fostered an
atmosphere of freedom in Slovenia. "We are
out of line with developments in Europe. We
need to join the European Community, but
that's impossible as long as the Serbian policy
in Kosovo persists. Kosovo is the touchstone
that will mark Yugoslavia's readiness to be a
modern, progressive, democratic state. Only
NationalGeographic, August 1990